Abstract Inspired by typical plant surfaces with super-hydrophobic character such as lotus leaves and rose petals, a superhydrophobic surface was achieved successfully by a chemical immersion process. Here, 304 SS (stainless steel) was used as substrates and a micro-nano hierarchical structure was obtained by chemical etching with a mixed solution containing ferric chloride. The results showed that the water contact angle (WAC) decreased obviously due to surface morphology changing after chemical etching process. However, we obtained a superhydrophobic surface with a WAC of 158.3 ± 2.8° after modification by DTS (CH3(CH2)11Si(OCH3)3). Furthermore, the superhydrophobic surface showed an excellent anti-frosting character compared to pure staining steel. The surface morphology, chemical composition and wettability are characterized by means of SEM, XPS and water contact angle measurements. This method could provide a facile, low-cost and stable route to fabricate a large-area superhydrophobic surface with anti-frosting for application in various environments including in humid condition.